Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2013 22:17:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 23

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 23 – The Trying Times.

After Darren and I finally set down the things we were working on, we went out to
grab our trays.  Today's lunch consisted of a hot dog, potato chips, some pickles,
a scoop of pork & beans and a couple of cookies, along with a carton of milk -
another wonderful meal.  Damn, this was worse than the school lunches I
remembered from when I was a kid.

To get my mind off of this disappointing lunch fare, immediately after I finished
eating, I went back to work and began to flesh out the ideas I wanted to include
in this story.  I had been working on it for only a short time before rec hour was
announced, but Darren and I decided not to join in the fun this time.  Fred told us
we could use his cards while he was gone and we thanked him, but I'd
purchased my own deck of cards and an Uno deck too.  However, since he
offered, we used his deck for part of the time and played some double-solitaire,
but we also took part of the hour to do some simple exercises, to make Darren
feel a little better about not going outside.

We basically did that until everyone returned and then Darren and I went back to
our cells.  He was going to draw some more and I was going to write, but as soon
as the COs disappeared from sight, I started to hear a slew of derogatory
comments being shouted from some of the other cellblocks in our wing, about me
being a pussy for not going out to rec.  It seems that I must have inadvertently
spoiled some of their recreational plans, such as taking away their opportunity to
beat me up for exercise.

Although it took a great deal of effort on my part, I was able to tune out their
verbal abuse, so when they realized they weren't getting to me, they began to
include Darren in on their abusive treatment, since he had stayed in with me.
When I heard this, I went down to his cell, to check on him, and I could
immediately tell that their comments were starting to get to him.  They were
yelling and asking why he didn't come out for rec, before they began to suggest it
was so I could have some fun with him in private, although their comments
weren't exactly phrased in such polite or simple terms.

Our tormentors were making kissing noises, grunting sounds and moans, like
someone in the throes of a sexual climax, so they'd obviously used their
extremely tiny minds to conclude that we were now a couple and involved
sexually.  This meant Darren and I were going to have to be even more careful
about being singled out, especially when we weren't in the cellblock.  The
possibilities of what some of these guys might try to do to us if they caught us
somewhere alone now seemed far worse than what we had first imagined.

A short time later, it was announced that in about twenty minutes our cellblock
would be let out to use the group shower facility in our wing, so we should get
ready, if we wanted to do this.  Seeing I was used to showering daily, this was
more than just a luxury for me, it was an absolute necessity, especially since
we'd been told we were only going to be able to shower three times a week.  The
only problem was, I wondered if this might lead to a whole new set of problems
for me.

The guard told us to strip down, wrap our towels around our waists and then get
in line, as we waited to be taken to the shower area.  As Fred had told us, this
was just a large, gym-type shower, with six showerheads on one wall and four on
the other wall, where the entrance was.  I went to the far end to shower to get
away from the others, after leaving my towel in the outer area.  When I turned
toward the showerhead, I noticed that Darren had followed me and was taking
the showerhead next to mine, while Fred took one on the opposite wall.

Fred seemed to be exhibiting some noticeable trepidation about being in here,
but I wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about me or if he was
concerned about how Roy and Irvin were going to react.  Maybe he was afraid
that they might try to attack me, so since he had taken a showerhead closer to us
than the other pair, I concluded he had either done this so he could help protect
us or because he felt safer being around Darren and me.

Roy and Irvin stayed at the other end of the shower, which left some open
showerheads between them and us.  There were liquid soap dispensers built into
the wall, below the showerhead, so there were no bars of soap to pass around,
let alone that could get dropped, if you catch my drift.  The soap would also have
to double as our shampoo, unless you had brought your own bottle, which you
could purchase from the inmate store.  I quickly adjusted the temperature of the
water, took a nice healthy squirt of soap and began to lather up my body.

I did my best to keep my eyes closed or stare straight ahead at the wall, so no
one would think I was checking them out, but it was kind of hard not to take
advantage of Darren standing right next to me.  I did glance over at him a few
times, out of the corner of my eye, and noticed that he had a fairly decent looking
body, which he didn't seem to be trying to hide from me.  In fact, he was standing
at an angle, so he was facing in my direction, rather than turning his back to me.
This allowed me to see that he was fairly hairless, except for his pubes, legs,
underarms and head, plus he looked to be in great shape.  He also had a nice
dick, which swung about as he moved around under the spray and hung over a
nice pair of low hanging balls.

I managed to gather all of these details by only glancing at him for a few seconds
at a time, because I didn't dare turn directly toward him to inspect his package.
Absolutely no one said a word while we were in there and when we were done,
we dried off, wrapped our towels around our waists again and were led back to
our cells.

Once I entered mine, I put on some clean underwear, but then I had to slip into
the same orange jumpsuit, because it was only swapped out once a week, when
the laundry trusty collected our things to be washed.  At least it felt good to be
clean and have on clean underwear, even if the outer garment wasn't quite as
fresh.  Once that process was completed, I sat down to write some more, but
only until Darren showed up at my cell door again.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Of course you may," I responded.  "What's on your mind?"

"I noticed you didn't get hard when we were soaping up next to each other," he
stated.

His comment let me know that that he had been checking me out as well, but
possibly for a different reason.

"I'm glad," he continued, "because I thought you might get aroused in there."

"Darren, didn't I tell you this wouldn't be a problem and you don't have to worry
about anything?" I responded.  "I only do things with willing partners and don't
merely get aroused every time I'm around other naked guys.  Contrary to popular
belief, I'm not the rapist everyone in here is trying to make me out to be, so you
have nothing to worry about."

"I know," he confirmed, while looking embarrassed that he had mentioned this.  "I
just wanted to let you know I appreciated that.  I was a little nervous when we
first went in, but it didn't take long for me to get over that.  I guess I was more
worried that one of those other two guys might try something and not that I was
worried about you."

"I don't think that will happen, as long as Fred, you and I stick together," I offered,
hoping that would make him feel better.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed.

After saying this, he asked me if I wanted to come out and join Fred and him in a
game of cards.  I started to say 'no,' because I was hoping to do some writing,
but I could tell he needed me to do this for him.  Since I didn't want to hurt his
feelings, I agreed to play for up to an hour, but I also told him I wanted to do
some work after that.

As we moved toward the table Fred was sitting at, I realized I was going to have
more trouble finding time to write than I had first imagined, because it seemed
that Darren was going to need some of my time as well.  Before I sat down, I
decided to ask them if they'd rather play Uno instead, for a little change of pace,
and they quickly agreed.  I then went back to my cell and collected my Uno deck,
and then Fred, Darren and I were soon involved in a very heated game.

After we had played for about an hour, I advised them that I was going to quit for
now and headed back to my cell.  I immediately went back to work on laying the
groundwork for my next story, but I wasn't alone for very long.  A couple of
minutes later, Darren came back carrying the legal pad that I had given him, and
then he sat down on my bunk and began to draw.  That's how we remained, until
our dinner trays were delivered.

When we went out to pick up our trays, we discovered that tonight's fare seemed
to be a step up from the previous meals we had received, or at least more filling.
This time we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a tossed salad with Italian dressing
and a scoop of pudding.  I was confused when I heard a little grumbling, from the
dumbbell duo about the meal, but the rest of us were quite pleased with tonight's
selection.  After we finished cleaning off our trays, there was another delay
before everything was collected again, so I went back to my cell to write.  Darren
followed me in there and we both went back to what we were doing until coffee
was served.

Well, to be accurate, tonight we were served tea, which I didn't mind.  However,
Darren didn't seem to care for tea, so he gave me his cup as well.  I quickly
dumped it into the cup I had purchased, since I knew I wouldn't be able to finish
both cups before the trusty came back to collect them.  Seeing he had given me
his drink, I told him to go get his cup from his cell and make some Kool-Aid
instead.  I also went out and asked Fred to join us, which he did, and then I
offered each of them a couple of cookies from my stash.  We enjoyed this little
dessert, along with our drinks, as we hung out in my cell.

I have to admit that I was glad that Darren and Fred were in this cellblock with
me, because they made it easier to survive and I realized that I would have been
far worse off without them.  Since they were helping me, I wanted to make
certain that I helped to make the time we were together a little more bearable for
them as well.

When we finished our little coffee klatch, Fred went back to the common area,
and I quickly brushed my teeth.  After Darren got back from doing the same, he
sat on my bunk and started to draw again, while I continued to write.  We did this
until lights out, which came at precisely 11:00.

Now that I was alone again, I began to reflect upon the past twenty-four hours
and realized I had made some significant headway, even though I was still in this
awful place.  Jack was making it possible for me to continue making a living, I'd
made one friend and another who was willing to tolerate me, but I'd also learned
that I could survive avoiding rec and spending the entire day in the confines of
our cellblock.  I'd find a way to make this work for me and would survive by
playing the hand I was dealt, so I lie on my bunk feeling confident that I was
going to make the best out of a bad situation.

My euphoria was soon dampened a bit when the nightly catcalls began anew.
Their hostility toward me was fueled to even greater heights when the dumbbell
duo informed the others that I had purchased some 'gifts' for Darren.  Now, their
attention shifted from me to him, but my confidence was building that Darren
could handle this abuse as well.  Once again he didn't crack under pressure and
kept quiet, while maintaining his composure and letting the idiots shout
themselves hoarse.  What a fitting resolution.

The following morning started off as they all would from now on, at least until I
was released.  At 6:00, one of the guards came along and shouted for us to wake
up, while unlocking our cells.  Shortly thereafter, another CO came through
pushing the cart with the razors and asking who wanted to shave.  I decided to
ask for a razor this time and was soon handed one that the CO had marked with
my name.  I took it into my cell to shave, so I could utilize both the sink and the
stainless steel mirror on the wall.  The mirror didn't provide a very good
reflection, but it made the chore of shaving slightly less difficult and I managed to
do a passable job.  A half-hour later, the guard returned to collect the razors and
was very careful to make sure that he rounded up the same number of items that
he had handed out earlier.

When breakfast arrived, Fred came down to sit with us again and we ate
together.  Shortly after the trays were picked up, one of the COs came to the
cellblock door and shouted out.

"Lee, your lawyer is here to see you," he announced.

I was curious to see who responded to this, since I didn't know anyone's last
name yet, and I was somewhat surprised to see Darren get up and walk toward
the exit from our little cage.  I would have never guessed it was his last name,
because it sounded sort of oriental, but I guess I was wrong.  So he's Darren
Lee, is he?

I sat down to write while he was gone and it was nearly an hour before he was
escorted back to the cellblock.  It must have been a fairly serious talk about the
charges he was facing, so I was wondering if he'd mention any of this to me,
since I didn't want to ask and make him to think I was prying.  Once the cellblock
door was locked again, he walked into my cell.

"Welcome back," I teased, when I saw him.

"I need your advice," he immediately began, without any sort of greeting.

"About what?" I asked.

I assumed it had to do with the visit from his attorney, but it was possible that it
might have to do with something else, such as something he'd overheard or seen
on his way there or on the way back.  Until he told me though, I couldn't be sure.

"I just spent all that time with the Public Defender who's been assigned to defend
me and he wanted to discuss what sort of options I'd agree to," he began.  "He
said he'd try to see if he could get the D.A. to offer us a deal, but he wanted to
know what I'd be agreeable to first."

"You mean he has one or is just trying to get you one?" I wondered.  "Usually
he'd have an offer first and then come to you to discuss it, not the other way
around."

"I think my lawyer is new to the job, so I don't have a lot of confidence in him,"
Darren announced.  "I had to take a Public Defender, because I couldn't afford a
lawyer, and I think they gave me someone that just got out of college and is
starting his first job.  I really don't think he's even defended anyone else yet, even
though he didn't tell me that."

"I see and I'm sorry to hear he's so green," I commiserated.  "Did he give you any
ideas?"

"He was throwing a lot of terms around, but I'm not sure I understood everything
he was talking about," Darren confessed.  "I think he said something about
assault or battery, but maybe that was all one term.  I don't quite remember.  I
think he also said something about harassment, criminal mischief, disorderly
conduct and some other things too."

"Well, I'm not a lawyer and shouldn't be giving you, or anyone else, legal advice,"
I responded.  "This is especially true since you can't really give me all of the
details, but let me ask you a question.  Do you think there's any way possible that
you can beat the charge completely?"

"I doubt it, because I kinda said some things afterward, like he deserved it when I
hit him," he replied.  "There were also quite a few witnesses who saw what I did,
so I'm just hoping I only end up doing a year or less and won't have to go to
prison."

"Ok, then let me give you this piece of advice," I offered.  "I will tell you this much,
and that is before you agree to any deal, ask your lawyer if the charge that's
being offered is a felony or a misdemeanor first.  Don't accept a felony deal,
unless there's absolutely no other option."

"Ok, I think I can do that," he agreed.

"What's your lawyer's name?" I asked next, because I didn't want to see him end
up getting screwed.

"Why?" he wanted to know.

"Because I'm going to have a friend of mine get in touch with him, to see if he
can help get you the best deal possible," I answered.

After he gave me this information, I talked to the CO when he made his next
rounds and told him that I needed to call my lawyer.  Since they have to let us
make legal calls, he agreed, but he wanted to know why I had to talk to my
attorney, if I was already convicted and sentenced.  I merely told him that he was
handling some other matters for me as well, so he took me out of the cellblock
and let me use the phone.

I called Bruno, gave him the Public Defender's name and asked him to work with
the guy to get my friend the best deal possible.  After assuring him that I'd cover
any fees that were required to pay for his time, he agreed and I went back to my
cell.  I didn't say anything to Darren about what I'd just done, but I hoped that this
would keep him from being treated too harshly for his drunken lack of judgment.

I spent most of my time writing after that and stayed in my cell.  After lunch, when
rec time was called, Darren and I didn't go again and decided to work out in the
common area of our cellblock instead, so we'd stay in shape.  We stripped down
to our underwear and then did push ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts and leg lifts to
make up for not going outside, and when we finished, we sponged off, put on
clean underwear and then he joined me back in my cell again.  When the others
returned from rec, each of them glanced in at us, with Roy and Irvin giving us
dirty looks.

"Did you two have time to fuck while we were gone," Roy spat out, as he stopped
outside my cell.  "Real cute staying back, so you'd be all alone, but everyone in
here knows what you guys are doing."

"Then everyone knows wrong," Darren shouted back.

After they walked away, I told him just to ignore Roy and not give him any
satisfaction by acknowledging anything he said.  They were going to think what
they wanted, no matter what we had to say, so I told him to save his breath and
just ignore the comments.  Once he realized I was right, we both went back to
what we were doing.

When things quieted down later, Fred came down and filled us in about what
happened at rec and some of the things that had been said out there.  We
listened to what he reported, but didn't let any of it get to us, because we had
already surmised things like that were going to be said and thought.  We thanked
Fred for keeping us informed and helping to cover our backs, and then we all
went out to the common area to play cards for a while.

We did that until dinnertime, when we took a quick break to eat.  Afterward, we
decided to just watch TV for the rest of the night and sat at the middle table
again, while Roy and Irvin sat at the table closest to the screen.  We certainly
didn't want to join them or get in their way, because we were leery of what they
might do if either of those things were to happen.

After watching the news and a couple of mind-numbing shows, one of those
police dramas came on.  It was a fairly interesting story about a young woman
who was raped and we followed the police officers as they investigated several
potential suspects.  Over the course of the next thirty or forty minutes, each of
the possible perpetrators was eliminated, before the actual assailant was finally
identified and apprehended.  It was a total shocker and the rapist turned out to be
someone none of us had even considered as being responsible.

"Whoa!  I certainly didn't see that one coming," I confessed, speaking to Darren
and Fred.

"Yeah, that surprised me too," Darren agreed.

"Maybe he's not really the one," Fred offered, since he wasn't convinced this guy
was guilty.

"It's possible, but seeing the hour is nearly up, either they've got their man or this
story will be continued next week," I observed.

When I looked up to watch the screen again, I saw Roy and Irvin staring in our
direction and making faces, and then they began whispering back and forth,
although I had no idea what they might be saying.  Once the program ended, it
was time for lights out, so we all went to our cells and got ready to sleep.  We
had only been in there for about ten minutes, when the catcalls started again.

The harassment continued for about thirty minutes and the statements were
basically the same as the night before, but since they weren't getting a rise out of
Darren or me, they eventually stopped.  As I lie on my bunk, I wondered how
much longer these nightly sessions were going to continue, because I didn't think
they could possibly keep this up until I was released, but then again I guess I
could be mistaken.  There's a constant turnover in inmates, with fresh blood
coming in on a regular basis, so as long as the others were able to get them riled
up about what I had done, then I imagine it might be possible for them to keep
this going.

Regardless of what the future holds concerning how the other inmates are going
to treat me, I had to stay focused on each day as it came.  I could deal with the
verbal harassment, since the physical abuse had ended when I stopped going to
rec, so I would do my time and try to get through it as unscathed as possible.  I
fell asleep while still contemplating these same thoughts.

The following morning, when breakfast was delivered, Roy called the CO over
and spoke to him privately.  None of us had any idea what it was about, but Roy
definitely had a very sour expression on his face and was very animated while
speaking with the CO.  Obviously, something was bothering him and I could only
assume that it had to do with me.

Since the other guys from the cellblock behind us, as well as those in the
cellblocks at the other end of our wing, would shout out obscenities directed
toward me every night, I'm sure it was weighing on the nerves of the others in my
cellblock as well.  When you add that to what the inmates that went out with our
wing for rec had to say, it may have been getting under Roy's skin.  Fred had
warned us that he thought the guys at rec were not only saying things about me,
but they also seemed to trying to get Roy and Irvin to do something about me,
which I took to mean as some sort of physical attack.

Whatever the problem was, once he spoke to the CO, things returned to normal.
I went into my cell to write, and a short time later, Darren came into my cell to join
me, although he just sat on my bed and drew on the legal pad.  We did this until
lunch was delivered and he wanted to show me what he'd done before we went
out to collect our trays.  This time he had drawn caricatures of each of us in the
cellblock, including himself.  I thought these were very clever and extremely well
done, but I warned him not to leave the drawings where Roy and Irvin might be
able to see them.  There's no telling how they might react if they saw these
simple caricatures of themselves, especially since Darren hadn't shown them in
the most sympathetic light.

We took a quick break for lunch when the 'meals on wheels' was delivered to us.
When rec time came, the other three went out to get some fresh air, but Darren
and I stayed in the cellblock.  We were in our underwear and working out, when
the lieutenant from the front desk showed up.

"Which one of you is Cox?" he asked, and I indicated that I was.

"I was told you'd be here, because you quit going out to rec," he began, "but I
received a complaint about you this morning.  I know you're in here for a sex
crime, but I was told you were making jokes about a woman getting raped on a
television show last night and it offended some of your cellmates."

"Then you were given bad information, because that never happened," I replied.

"You didn't make a comment while watching the show last night?" he followed,
while looking doubtful.

"Oh, I made a comment, but it wasn't what you were told," I explained.  "When it
was disclosed who had committed the crime, all I said was that I hadn't seen that
coming, because the person responsible was not who I thought it might be."

"That's right, because we were sitting together," Darren added, sticking up for
me.

"So you must be Lee," the Lt. observed.  "I was told you two were tight and you
would stick up for each other."

"Then ask Fred," I suggested.  "I don't know his last name, but he was sitting with
us too and can verify everything we've told you."

The lieutenant nodded and walked away.  We weren't sure what he was going to
do next, but Darren looked shaken by that confrontation.

"What the hell was that about?" he wanted to know.

"I saw Roy talking to one of the COs this morning," I answered, "so I would
surmise that he complained and told him that I had made derogatory comments
about last night's program."

"But you never said anything like that!" Darren objected.

"I know, but that's obviously what he heard, how he saw it or he just decided to
use the incident to get me in trouble," I offered.  "Regardless of the reason, I
hope we cleared it up and nothing else comes of it."

Darren and I then finished doing our exercises, cleaned up and then went back to
my cell to draw and write.  When the other three returned from rec, Roy walked
past my cell and flashed me a sort of a snarl, but he also seemed to have a slight
grin on his face, so that might have meant that he thought he'd succeeded in
getting me in trouble.  Whatever it was about, he and Irvin went to their end and
a few minutes later, Fred came in to speak with us.

"When I was outside, one of the COs called me over to speak to the Lieutenant,"
he began, "and he asked me questions about last night.  He wanted to know if
you'd made a joke about a woman getting raped on television."

"And what did you tell him?" I followed.

"I just told him you didn't do that, and when he pressed to find out what you'd
said, I told him you were just surprised about who had actually done it.  That's
all," he replied.

"Good, that's exactly what we told him too," I confirmed.  "I hope that hearing you
confirm this takes care of the situation and he realizes it was all made up,"

"Why?  What was that all about?" Fred followed.  "Why did he want to know what
you said while we were watching TV?"

"Because Roy told them a lie about what happened," Darren spat out.  "He's
trying to get Bob in trouble."

"Fucking douche bag," Fred hissed, while looking down toward the other end of
the cellblock.  "I hope he gets his then."

The subject was dropped after that, but Fred stayed in with Darren and me for a
while longer.  During that time, he explained about some things that either Roy or
Irvin had done to others who had been locked up with them, so it was clear that I
wasn't alone in receiving this kind of treatment from them.  It was also fairly
apparent, however, that Fred didn't seem to like or trust them either, which
worked out in my favor.

About an hour later, we got a chance to take another shower, which Darren and I
desperately needed, because we'd been working out every day.  Since our
jumpsuits only got exchanged once a week, we'd been taking them off when we
exercised and hoped that would help to make it a bit more bearable in between
showers.  We were doing everything we could think of so we wouldn't have to
smell each other when we spent time together in my cell.

Once we were ready, we were led down to the shower area and each of us
basically went to the same showerheads that we had used before.  Although this
activity took place without incident, I noticed that we got more than a few glares
from Roy and Irvin.  I wasn't sure if this was because they thought we were doing
something wrong or just hoped to catch us in the act, but that wasn't going to
happen.  Then again, it was possible that they were just pissed off because I
hadn't got in trouble after Roy had reported me.  Whatever the reason, their
constant surveillance made the three of us very uncomfortable.

Shortly after we finished up and were led back to our cells, the laundry trustee
came by and picked up our dirty clothes.  First, he handed each of us a clean
jumpsuit and then we went into our cells to change.  Once we had done that, we
stripped our beds and gave him our bedding, along with our jumpsuits and
towels, but we also put our underwear and other things we wanted washed into
the pillowcase.  I had used the marker I'd bought to mark mine and had loaned it
to Darren so he could do the same with his, so we'd get everything back that we
sent down.  Fred said our clothes would be brought back later, probably after
dinner, but definitely before lights out, so we'd have time to make our beds again
before it was time to sleep.

Dinner was another unappetizing affair, followed by a couple of games of Uno
with Darren and Fred, before coffee was served.  This time it actually was coffee,
not tea, and I invited the boys in for a couple of cookies to go along with this
nightly treat.  They both accepted, so we sat in my cell, chatted and enjoyed this
simple pleasure.

We were still together when the trusty came back with our clean laundry and
called us out.  Once he did that, Fred and Darren went back to their cells to make
up their bunks, while I did the same.  Fred didn't come back after that, but Darren
did and he sat on my bunk to draw, while I wrote.  This made me realize that we
were settling into one hell of a rut, but the problem was, I didn't see how we were
going to break it until we got released.  If that isn't a sad and pathetic thought,
then I don't know what is.

Darren stayed in with me until lights out was announced and then he went back
to his cell.  The catcalls started shortly thereafter and were slightly more intense
than the previous evening.  I believed Roy and Irvin had probably got the others
whipped into a feeding frenzy by telling them what he thought I had done the
previous evening, but I was becoming oblivious to this harassment.  I just hoped
that Darren was doing the same.

The next few days seemed to go according to schedule, at least as far as the jail
staff was concerned, and we followed our daily routine as usual.  If I hadn't been
able to write and take comfort in the distraction it afforded me, as well as having
the friendship that Darren and Fred offered me, I would most likely have found
myself either in the throes of a severe depression or pathetically bored to tears.
If it weren't for these diversions, there wouldn't be much that I could do to occupy
myself, since I was avoiding rec.

None of this seemed to be a problem for those with less intellectual capacity,
because they seemed to be more easily soothed and entertained.  Roy and Irvin,
for example, seemed satisfied being able to watch television shows all day long
and only taking a break to go out for the hour of rec time they were allowed to
participate in.  For me, that was just mind numbing monotony.

The next time we were given a chance to buy from the inmate store, I made a
few additional purchases for Darren.  This time, I bought him a sketchpad and a
set of colored pencils, which came with one of those small, plastic hand-held
sharpeners.  Even though I'd noticed those items on the list earlier, I kind of
ignored them, because they didn't interest me personally, but now I realized they
had a purpose.  It also indicated that there had been other artists in here before
Darren, so I figured this would keep him occupied, allow him a chance to hone
his skills and relieve some of his boredom.  It would also give me time to write,
without feeling guilty about ignoring him, thus killing two birds with one stone.

When my selections were brought back to me later, I took those two items out of
the bag and gave them to Darren.  He appeared surprised that I had done this
again, but then he thanked me over and over for this unexpected treasure.  It
was almost as if I had just handed him a million dollars, because he was beside
himself with excitement and joy.

Darren spent the rest of the night in my cell creating another drawing, although
this time he was able to do it in color and without having any lines to contend
with.  Since he was able to do more than merely use shades of black and gray,
he had chosen to draw a landscape and happily showed the blue of the sky, the
greens and browns of the grasses, as well as using numerous other colors to
show everything in between.

Darren returned to his cell before lights out and then we listened to a few of the
others shout obscene and derogatory comments at us for the next half-hour.  I
think fewer inmates were involved in doing this now and the abuse seemed to be
ending after a much shorter period of time, since we weren't responding to them.
I hoped this meant it would end altogether before too much longer, but we'd just
have to wait and see if this happened.

Over the next few days, now that I had given Darren both the sketchpad and
colored pencils, he would walk down to my cell and sit on my bunk to draw, while
I sat at my desk and focused on my story.  Jack had brought me a bag with a
bunch of things in it, from copies of the chapters of the stories I'd been working
on, to the notes and background information I needed.  This made it possible for
me to get a lot more done and I was thrilled with how much I was able to
accomplish.

I think Darren felt safer spending his time with me, even though I wasn't paying
much attention to him, because he realized the others were less likely to try
anything while we were together.  We made sure not to leave Fred completely
out of our activities as well, and we'd eat our meals together, plus we'd take
breaks from time to time so we could go out and play pitch, hearts or UNO with
him.  We also invited him to join us for a couple of cookies from time to time,
especially when the coffee or tea was delivered in the evening.  He would spend
his remaining time playing solitaire, reading or watching TV, but he always did
that at a safe distance from the dumbbell duo, since he didn't seem to feel
comfortable getting too close to them either.

When Darren finished one of his sketches, he would always ask me to check it
out and I was usually quite impressed with what he had done.  One of the
landscapes that he had completed was a wonderful scene of bucolic splendor,
and after I commented about it, he explained that it was a picture of his
grandfather's farm.  He told me it had been a place he loved to visit when he was
a kid, so I'm sure this drawing was basically an idealistic portrayal of what he
remembered from his youth, rather than a realistic representation.  For me, it was
a touching and sensitive depiction of a very special place in a young man's life
and I praised his effort, while advising him to keep it safely tucked away.  I didn't
want him to accidentally leave it in the common area where it might get
destroyed, because I thought he might want to have it framed when he got out.

Another sketch he did was of the view from his cell.  This one was done
completely in black and white, which gave a stark and foreboding insight about
what it was like to be caged up like an animal.  The picture even included some
of the rec yard, as seen through the double doors leading out to it, but he didn't
include any of the inmates in his drawing.  I wasn't sure if this was due to the fact
that he couldn't draw lifelike figures, he just couldn't think of anyone he wanted to
include in his artwork or whether he was trying to protect us from being
recognized after we got out.  It was, however, also quite well done, especially if
you considered that he'd completed it in such a short span of time.

The final drawing he showed me was a portrait, and he did a very nice job on this
as well, so it was obvious that he didn't have any problems with drawing the
human form.  I think he could have picked a better subject though, because he'd
used me as his unwitting model, so he'd probably worked on it when we were in
my cell together.  He was, however, anxious to learn what I thought of his effort,
so I began by telling him that he had made a poor choice of subjects, but he had
done a remarkable job with what he had to work with.

Darren scoffed at my criticism about his choice of subjects, but then he offered
me the drawing to keep, in appreciation for everything I had done for him.  I
thanked him and stated that I'd cherish his drawing always and would place it in
a suitable frame when I got home.  He smiled, because I think this made him feel
as if he had just paid me back, at least in part, for my generosity to him.  He was
happy, I was impressed and we were now more or less on an even basis again,
as far as the gift giving was concerned.

We happened to be sitting in my cell after lunch and prior to rec, when one of the
COs came by.

"Lee, your lawyer is here to see you," he announced, so Darren got up and
walked to the cellblock door.  He was let out and led away by the CO, and a few
minutes later, another CO came by to take the others out to rec.  I was worried
that one of them might hang back, since this was the first time they would be able
to catch me alone, but that didn't happen, so I waited for Darren to return.  He
was brought back about a half hour later, with a slight smile on his lips.

"You did that, didn't you?" he asked, as soon as he'd entered the cellblock.

"Did what?" I asked, confused.

"You sent someone to help my lawyer, didn't you?" he asked.  "The Public
Defender said another lawyer showed up at his office and told him he was
directed to help him work out a deal for me with the District Attorney.  My lawyer
thought someone in his office had sent this other guy to help out, since he hadn't
done anything like this before, but when they met with the D.A., he seemed to
know this other lawyer and mentioned your name."

"Yes, I did ask my lawyer to help the rookie working on your case, because I
didn't want to see you get screwed because he didn't know what he was doing," I
confirmed.  "Did it help?"

"Yes, it did!" Darren stated, while hopping around.  "My lawyer said the D.A. was
pushing for a felony charge of aggravated assault, with a sentence
recommendation of three to five years, but he said your attorney convinced him
to drop it down to disorderly conduct, so I'd only get a year in jail and they'd
credit me for the time I've already been in here."

"That's great!" I agreed.  "I'm glad he could do that for you."

"He really did, because my lawyer said he would never have thought about using
the arguments he did," Darren confirmed.  "He told me that your lawyer argued
that if it went to court, he'd argue diminished capacity, because I had been
drinking and was intoxicated, and self defense, because he said that in my
impaired state I felt threatened by the much larger bouncer and was only trying to
protect myself.  My lawyer said the D.A. looked worried that approach might
work, so he agreed to the deal.  Thanks, man, because I could have been doing
some serious prison time without your help."

"Hey, I'm just glad that it worked out," I answered, simply.

"My lawyer told me that your lawyer also had my stuff taken out of the apartment
I was sharing with the other guys, since I couldn't pay my share of the rent and
they were threatening to just dump all my things out on the street," Darren
offered.  "He said he had my things put in storage, so I hope I don't have to pay a
lot to get everything back when I get out."

"You won't have to pay anything," I stated.  "I had him take it all to my house and
store it there, until we had completed our sentences."

"Wow! You did that too?" Darren exclaimed, totally surprised.  "Thanks, man.  I
really owe you."

Darren was on a total high for the rest of the day and seemed to float around the
cellblock.  Even Fred noticed the change in his demeanor and asked about it, so
Darren told him what he'd learned while they were all out to rec.

"Damn, I wish you'd been around when I was first charged, because you
probably would have found a way to get me off completely," he quipped.

The following days seemed to pass quite quickly, since we were both keeping
fairly busy now.  I was working very hard on my stories and Darren was drawing
any and every thing he could think of.  The next time we were allowed to buy
from the inmate store again, I purchased two more sketchpads for him and I can't
begin to tell you how thrilled he was.  It was almost as wonderful watching the
glow on his face when I handed the sketchpads to him, as when I had watched
Jared's face light up when I'd given him the puppy for his birthday.

As we continued to grow even closer, Darren began to fill me in about some of
the other aspects of his life, such as telling me about his family and what it was
like for him where he grew up.  He was not from this area and only moved here
because he planned to attend a nearby college, but he had only gone to classes
for a short period of time before he learned his financial aid package had fallen
through, so he was forced to drop out.  He decided to stick around the area, get a
job and hang out with his buddies, rather than return home, but unfortunately that
was what got him into trouble.

He was with those same friends the night he was drinking and ended up
smashing the bouncer with a beer bottle, and that incident only served to prove
that those guys were only fair-weather friends.  They all seemed to abandon him
after he got arrested and Darren hadn't seen or heard from any of them since his
troubles started.  He'd even sent them letters asking for their help, but they never
even gave him the decency of a response.  He had also sent and received letters
with his parents, so it wasn't an issue of unreliable jailhouse mail system, so it
appeared to be that they were intentionally ignoring him.

Since the issue of his parents had come up when we were talking about the mail,
he decided to tell me about them and I soon learned that they've had more than
their share of financial difficulties.  Due to this fact, they couldn't afford to come
see Darren, which left him virtually alone.  He also told me about some of the old
girlfriends he'd had, although currently there was no one he was particularly
close to, but I could tell from the things he was saying that he was as straight as
an arrow.  In some ways, he was a bit immature, or possibly just naïve about
more worldly matters, but he seemed to be a nice enough kid.  The only reason
he was in here in the first place was that he couldn't seem to handle his booze.
He had let it impair his judgment, which was what got him into the mess he was
paying for now.

I wasn't sure if Darren was looking at me as a friend, big brother or a father figure
at this point, or possibly none of those things.  Maybe he had only latched on to
me because I was available and appeared to be the most harmless one he had
run into at that time.  I think even if that was the case in the very beginning,
something more had developed, as we spent more and more time together.

Darren didn't seem to let anyone else change his opinion of me either and was
still very nicely handling the insulting barbs they shot at him.  It was possible he
was doing this because he'd concluded that most of the inmates who were
harassing us were so dumb that their opinion didn't matter or he thought they
were all bark and no bite.  I tried to warn him not to feel too secure about this
latter viewpoint, because it would only take one of those macho scumbags to
prove him wrong and do some serious damage before he realized what was
happening.  He agreed that he would continue to remain alert and not let down
his guard, so I didn't press my warning further.



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